Have you ever wondered who funds the RHS charity gardens, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and what happens to them afterward?
Gardens are a great way for charities and community projects to highlight their cause, but many would not exist without grants.
This year, Project Giving Back (PGB) is sponsoring 15 of the iconic event's display gardens.
The philanthropic couple behind it all (who prefer to stay out of the spotlight) were inspired to start PGB after the pandemic, when the RHS Chelsea Flower Show was canceled or postponed, and since 2022 have spent millions funding 27 gardens. Chelsea.
“The founders came up with the idea that if they took on the cost of putting a garden into the program, it would benefit a charity and the designers would be inspired to design a garden they loved,” says PGB CEO Hattie Ghawi.
Since then they have brought in between £3m and £4m a year, says Ghaui; A grant for a garden can range from £70,000 to £500,000.
How much difference has PGB made?
“Without Project Giving Back, I'm not sure how Chelsea would have recovered from not having a show (in 2020) and then having a late show (in September 2021) due to the pandemic,” says garden designer and volunteer Darren of Samaritans. Hawkes, who designed the PGB-sponsored Samaritans' Listening Garden 2023 in Chelsea to mark its 70th anniversary.
“The focus changed with the display gardens, towards greater attention to their purpose and their legacy – not just their aesthetics, but also why we do this, who it is for and how they will benefit. “It really allowed those charitable messages and narratives to be at the forefront.”
He says the program helped make the Samaritans' 70th anniversary their most successful campaign. “The contact they had with the general public through the media, spin-off events and just contact at the show eclipsed anything else that had happened before,” Hawkes reflects.
How does PGB choose which gardens to sponsor?
Designers, in partnership with charities, are invited to submit 'expressions of interest', examining the charity's due diligence, understanding the designer's concepts and creative direction, looking at where the relocation plan will be.
“This year we had 130 expressions of interest. We narrowed it down to a long list of about 75 and then a short list of about 30. In 2025, we will fund no more than nine gardens in total,” says Ghaui. Working in partnership with the RHS, the idea is for funding to be gradually reduced as other Chelsea sponsors return.
What will happen to the gardens when the show ends?
All PGB-sponsored gardens are relocated, some entirely, others reused at multiple sites. “We are looking to relocate the gardens to sites that already have a gardening team and maintenance plan, such as hospitals and schools, or that have community programs in place,” adds Ghaui.
Designer Andy Sturgeon's The Mind Garden 2022 has been moved to a deprived area in Barrow-in-Furness, where it has become a reinterpretation of a space that has been empty for 50 years. It now provides a “green lung” in an urban environment.
“It has made a huge difference,” says Glen Mahaffy, peer support worker at Mind in Furness. “It is a community-oriented space and we have engaged very well with the local community.”
The garden gives people a feeling of pride and helps their mental wellbeing, he adds: “It gives our volunteers somewhere to go and work. We have group sessions in spring, summer and fall and it is a great place to hold outdoor events.” There they have had mindfulness sessions, therapeutic gardening groups and conversation groups.
“It gives people a purpose, the opportunity to contribute to the upkeep of the garden and benefits the lives of people who would otherwise be stuck at home with a sedentary existence,” says Mahaffy. “The sheer essence of having a place to gather adds a different dimension to what we offer at Mind in Furness.”What are the future plans?
As time goes on, PGB's involvement with Chelsea will reduce. His final year will be 2026. After that, he will document everything he has done and it is hoped that the RHS, other philanthropists and charities can use his legacy to demonstrate the value of Chelsea.
Ghaui believes that helping charities raise their profile is PGB's greatest achievement.
“I've heard stories of charities raising over £800,000 in one night simply by being in Chelsea,” he says. “It has given charities access to an incredible event that they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. And it certainly puts smaller charities, like Horatio's Garden, on the map. [who construct biodiverse gardens in spinal injury centres]who was catapulted into the spotlight.”
